Leather boarding and graining machine



(No Model.) 7 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 J. H. HOVEY.

LEATHER BOARDING AND GRAINING MACHINE.

N0; 253,533. Patented'Peb.'14','1'882;

m fi esses. v

'(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. HHOVEYI LEATHER BOARDING AND GRAINING MACHINE.

No. 258,533. Patented Feb. 14,1882.

WHEBSESY.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J.H.HOVEY. LEATHER BOARDING AND GRAINING MACHINE.

No. 253,533. Patented Feb. 14.1332.

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i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. HOVEY, OF WOBURN, MASSACHUSETTS.

LEATHER BOARDING 'AND GRAINING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 253,533, dated February14, 1882.

Application filed December 5, 1881. (No model.)

'it consists essentially of a stationary concave .bed having an elasticor yielding surface on its inside and a reciprocating worker movable onan axis, and provided with ayielding convex surface adapted to workwithin the aforesaid concave bed, and provided with a holding device forattaching and holding one end of the leather that is to be boarded orgrained also, in

- thecombination with thestationary concave bed and reciprocatingworker, of a revolving brushroll located in bearings attached to thereciprocating worker, a little in advance of its holding device, for thepurpose of properly laying and keeping the leather smooth, and toprevent it from wrinkling during theprocesses ofboarding or graining it,as will be furtherdescribed.

The invention further consists of an automatic holding and lockingdevice for locking and holding the leather attached to the forward endof the worker until the boarding or graining is accomplished. I also usean automatic reversing device for automatically reversin g the motion ofthe reciprocating worker during the operation of the machine. The re--ciprocating worker is provided with an adjustable pres'sure-regulatingdevice, by means of which the surface of the said worker may be adjustedmore or less in or out,-as may be required,for regulating the pressureon the leather between the reciprocating worker and the concave bed,according to the thickness of the leather that is operated upon. Theconcave bed and its reciprocating worker are of a sufficient size totake in a whole'side of leather at one time, so that the soft and thinparts of the side may receive the same relative pressure as the thickparts thereof, to be able to grain the side equally all over. v i

take the Myimproved machine is designed to place of the ordinaryhand-tools now usedfor graining or boardingleather, which is'previous-'ly printed orpebbled in the usual manner.

concave yielding bed. Fig. 3 represents an end view of themachine,showing the motion of the worker, as reversed, in the act ofboarding or graining the leather. Fig.4 represents an end view, seenfrom X in Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 represents a front elevation of theautomatic reversing device for the reciprocating worker.

Similarletters refer to similar parts wherever they occur on thedifferent parts of the drawings. 7 In the drawings, a and of, representthe ends or frames of the machine, between which is secured the concavebed, composed of an outer concave metallic frame, I), wood lining b, andyielding elastic surface I), made of cork, indiarubber, or similarelastic material. The said concave bed is made semicircular, and inbearings in the frames a and a is located the shaft .0 for thereciprocating worker, hereinafter to be more fully described. Said shaft0 is arranged centrally to the concavity of the arch of the concave bedI) b b, as shown.

- B is the table in front of the machine, upon which the side of leatherD is laid and guided to the machine during the operation of boarding orgraining the leather.

. The reciprocating worker is composed of a pair of rigid metallicskeleton-frames, c 0, secured to the shaft c,and having secured to itsouter semicircular surface a semicircular wooden or metal plate, 0,outside of which is arranged concentrically to it the adjustablesemicircular metal plate c, with its exterior elastic or yieldingcovering, a, made of india-rubber, cork, or similar elastic or yieldingmaterial.

The pressure from the center toward the exterior of the yieldingsemicircularplate c, to regulate the pressure on the leather whenoperated for the purpose set forth between the yielding surfaces 0 and bof the worker and concave bed, respectively, is regulated and adjustedby the following means, viz: Between the frames 0 c of the reciprocatingworker is secured, about midway between the shaft 0 and the semicircularplate 0, a semicircular rigid plate, O, to which is secured at intervalsat number of screw-threaded nuts, 0 G 0, each of which is provided witha hollow pressureserew, (3, adjustable in each of said nuts 0, andhaving a l1and-wheel,G, by which it can easily be manipulated. The outerend of each hollow pressure-screw O rests against a hollow metallicwasher, between which and a similar metallic washer, G is interposed anindia-rubber spring, O". (Shown in Fig. 3.) A spindle or shaft, 0 passesthrough the par-ts O, O, O, (3 G and O and it is provided in its innerend with a suitable hand-wheel, O, by means of which it may be turned.The spindle O" is provided with a collar, O resting against the outsideof the washer G as shown in Fig. 3. The outer end of the spindle O isprovided with a collar or nut,O restingagainst the inside of thesemicircular metal plate 0. The extreme outer end of the spindle O'passes loosely through the semicircular plate 0', and itsscrew-threaded end is made to work in a corresponding nut, O, secured tothe inside of the adjustable semicircular plate 0'. By this arrangementany desired portion of the semicircular plate 0 may be adjusted to orfrom the center of the shaft 0 by turning any one of the desired hand-wheels 0 (J and the outward pressure from the center to any desiredportion of the semicircular plate 0' may be regulated by turning any oneof the desired hand-screws U, and thereby increasing or decreasing thepressure on the india-rubber spring 0, the outer washer, C collar Ospindle O and outer movable case, 0', as may be desired, according tothe thickness of the leather which is operated upon and the pressuredesired to be exerted on it.

Between the forward ends of the rigid frames 0 c of the reciprocatingworker is secured a grooved bar, 07, which extends the wholelength ofthe machine, and it serves, in combination with the movable bar (1, as aholding device for securing thereto the edge of the leather D to begrained or boarded.

To each end of the movable bard is secured an arm, at, which is hingedat d on the reciprocating frame 0, as shown in Fig. 3, and

ordinarily the side D of leather is'automatically confined in itsforward end between the grooved bar (I and nipper-bar d by the influenceof the coiled springs d 61*, secured to the arms 61 and frames 0, asshown in Figs.2 and 3. Each rear end of the arms or levers d is providedwith a hinged foot, 61 held in position on the end of such lever bymeans of the small spring (1. (Shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4..)

e is a tooth or dog, hinged one on each side of the rim of the frames 0c, and e is a stoppin for each of the teeth a e, to prevent theirswinging too far around their hinge-pins.

f is a lever, provided with an inwardly-projecting hook, f, and hung atf to the outer concave shell, b, the lower end of such lever pulley, h,thereon, as usual.

being jointed in a suitable manner to the upper end of the lever f, hungat f on the outer concave shell, I), as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. Theleverf is hinged in its lower end to the horizontal sliding rod flocated in bearings b and b on the concave shell I), as shown, andhaving its inner end projecting beyond the inner bearing, b, so thatwhen the tooth e strikes it it shall be forced back against theinfluence of the coiled spring f, located on the rod fibetween its rearhearing, I), and a collar, f on said spindle, as shown in Fig. 4.

The operation of this unlocking device is as follows: During the motionof the reciprocating worker in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig.4. the hinged foot 01 comes in contact with the inwardly-projecting hookf of the lever f, and in so doing turns the arm 01 on its fulcrum anddisconnects the bars (1 and (1, so that the end of the side of leather Dmay be inserted between said bars when the latter are in the vicinity ofthe work-table B. The

bars (I and d are held apart until the tooth 0 comes in contact with theinner end of the yielding spindle f when by the latters connection tothe upper lever, f, its hookf is released from the hinged foot 01 at thesame time as the bars at and d are automatically brought together to nipthe edge of the leather D by the influence of the coiled springs d d, asheretofore described. One tooth, e, is used in each endof thereciprocating worker, combined with a connecting mechanism consisting ofa yielding spindle and jointed levers, as hereinabove set forth anddescribed. 9 is the rotary brush, located in hearings on the frames 0 cin advance of the holding-bars d d, as and for the purpose set forth. 4

The reversing mechanism for alternately setting the worker in areciprocating motion is fully represented in Figs. 4 and 5, in which hrepresents a shaft which is set in rotarymotionby means of belt-powerapplied to a fast On said shaft h is keyed a drum, h, carrying astraight belt, t, and twisted belt t" to the pulleys k k on the-shaft70, which is supported so as to rotate in suitable bearings, as usual.

70 and k are fast pulleys, and 7c is a loose pulley on the said shaftis.

l is a small pinion on the shaft k, which is geared-into the teeth ofthe spur-wheel I, that is fast on one end of the worker-shaft c.

m is a shipper-bar, as usual provided with the prongs m m.

On the frame 0, about diametrically opposite vto the holding device d d,is a projection, n,

which, as it approaches that end of the concave bed where the work-tableB is located, comes in contact with an ear or projection, 0, at the topof a vertically-movable rod, 0, located in suitable bearings, andthereby actuates a knee-lever, one end, 0 of which is jointed to the rod0, and its other arm,0,being jointed to the shipper-bar m, by whicharrangement the belts i and i are automatically reversed ITS from fastto loose and from loose to fast pulleys, and thus causing the worker toreverse its rotary motion until, after nearly one complete revolution,its ear n is again brought in contact with the projection 0 on thevertically adjustable shipper-rod o, by which an automatic reversal ofthe worker is accomplished continually until the machine is stopped.

p is a balance or counter weight secured to extensions on the arms 0 cfor the purpose of balancing the reciprocating worker.

In using the machine one end of the leather to be grained or boarded isinserted between the bars d and d, which are made automatically to closeupon each other and to hold the leather firmly between them, and thereciprocating worker then proceeds in the direction shown by the arrowin Fig. 4. The reciprocating worker continues in the same direction todraw and lay the leather D within the concave bed in a manner as shownin Fig. 2, and continues in the direction shown by arrows in said Fig. 2until its projection n hits the projection 0 on the belt-shipper, whenthe motion of the worker is reversed, as shown by arrow in Fig. 3, andcausing the leather D to be grained or boarded by being doubled uponitself, and, as it were, rolled between the elastic concave bed 12' andthe elastic covering 0 in a manner closely resembling the mannerofgrainingorboardingbyhand tools. Theworker continues to move in thedirection shown by arrow in Fig. 3 until the reciprocating worker hascompleted nearly a revolution around its axis, and until the project-ionn again comesin contact with the reversing-projection 0, when its motionis reversed to that shown by the arrow in Figs. 2 and 4, and during thismotion of the worker the hinged foot d on the end of the arm or lever dis brought in contact with the inward projection f, causing the holdingdevice at d to open to enablethe finished leather to be taken away and anew sideinserted, which is automatically clamped and held firmly betweenthe parts d d as soon as the dog or tooth e comes in contact with thesliding rodf as heretofore has been described. The hinged foot 01'' willpass freely by thelever-projection f when the worker is moved in thedirection of the arrow shown in Fig. 3, and when the worker is in suchmotion the dog or tooth 0 will also pass freely by the inner end of thesliding rodf What I wish to secure by Letters Patent and claim is 1. Ina boarding or graining machine, the stationary concave bed b,'having anelastic or yielding inner surface, b, and the reciprocating workercomposed of frame 0 c c" c, with outer yielding surface, 0, and aholding device, (Z d, for securing the leather to one end of the worker,as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with the stationary concave bed b, its yieldingsurface I), and reciprocating worker a c" 0' c and holding device at d,the rotary brush or roll 9, arranged on the frame 0 c in advance of theholding device, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a graining or boarding machine, as described, the holding deviceconsisting of the grooved bar d, movable bar d,'attached to levers d d,movable on .fulcra d, and provided in their outer ends each with ahinged foot, d and spring 01 in combination with the dog 6 and thelocking and releasing lever f, and connecting mechanism to the slidingrodf as and for the purpose described.

4. In a graining or boarding machine, areciprocatin g worker, c 0,having adjustable outer surface 0' c and a positive pressure device forregulating the pressure on the leather that is operated upon, as setforth.

5. A graining and boarding mach ne consisting of a stationary concavebed, b b I), reciprocating worker c c c c, a holding device for securingone end of the side of leather, and an automatic reversing device, asand for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN H. HOVIEY.-

Witnesses:

MARoELLUs LI'rTLEFIELD, MONTRESSUR T. ALLEN.

